Forces of The Nether
by Crescentmoon2002
Summary: A dark force is rising in the Nether. A force that might destroy the Void itself, and it's up to several players of the Overworld, a wolf, a cat and a friendly spider to stop it.(Now including quite a few more characters) Please review!(Note: This story had been discontinued for now. There may or may not be a re-write in the future.)
1. Prologue

The bright square sun rose in the world of Minecraft. Several zombies burned in the sunlight, groaning in pain as a young girl emerged from her house that was carved into a mountain. She had waist length dark brown hair, green eyes and wore a red jacket along with black pants. She swung an enchanted iron sword and a sleek wolf padded by her side. The sword had strange green markings on it that glowed in the sunlight.

A white ghostly being crouched in the leaves of a tree. The being was the same size as the girl. It had four glowing ruby coloured eyes. Targeting the girl, it pounced, missing only by a few pixels. The girl flipped her body backwards, before throwing the sword forward, letting it impale the being. The being let out a ghastly scream before falling on the grass.

A black fluid flowed from the wound in the being's body as the girl pulled out her sword. The fluid turned the grass black as the being's body slowly faded away into oblivion. She sighed heavily. They were coming more and more now. Sometimes, she felt that she would give up and conduct the "Quit" ceremony, killing herself.

Yet, she knew she couldn't. She was Red Robinwing, the last true Runic Warrior.


	2. Chapter 1 :The Book

Red took careful steps into the forest. That place was dangerous and the scar on her left arm reminded her so. "Come on, Aurora. We'd better get to those pigs before the creepers chase 'em away," she said to her wolf as she quickened her pace.

The pink creatures soon came into sight as she drew her blade. She cleanly ran her sword across the necks of the pigs, trying not to spill much blood. As Red walked home, Aurora happily chewed on some raw pork chop. Red headed down into her mine. The dim torchlight flickered slightly as she twirled a pickaxe in her hands.

She reached the end of her tunnel and she began to swing her pickaxe. The walls of stone slowly crumbled, block by block, leaving a tunnel behind. Several bits of iron and coal littered the floor and Red picked them up.

With a strike of her pickaxe, an opening to a cave system appeared. Several zombies streamed out of it and Red slashed them to the floor. She placed a torch on the dusty wall before mining out several ores. As she picked up some coal, she noticed a chest in the ceiling. She opened it and there was a strange-looking book inside.

Red stuffed the book into her inventory before exiting the tunnel. Aurora sniffed the ground cautiously. She let out a high-pitched bark. Only a few ticks after that, a strange floating white ghoul appeared. Shooting at Red with a flaming bow, the ghoul circled her and her wolf. Red shoved Aurora back into the mine for shelter before climbing up the mountain. Several arrows pierced her arm and back but she kept on climbing. She'd have to get to a higher altitude to have a clear shot at the ghoul.

The ghoul floated up to her but before it could reach her, Red raised her sword and chopped the ghouls head off. It fell to the ground, lifeless and disappeared with a puff of smoke. Pulling the arrows out of her body, she whistled for her wolf. Aurora raced after her as she entered the house.

Red sat down on her chair, opening the book from before. Aurora watched her intently as she read the book. "Well, well, well it appears our white friends came from the Nether," she said suddenly raising her eyebrows at the next page, "Wait, there are other players?"

"Huh," she said again before closing the book. "Well, Aurora. If we want to stop those daily invasions, we'd best look for those players- before it gets worse,"


	3. Chapter 2: The Village

Red opened a chest, taking several items from it. Aurora barked happily, wagging her tail. "Can't wait to go, can you, girl?" said Red, scratching Aurora's right ear. "Come on," she said again before opening the door and heading out.

She stopped at the doorway, poking her head out. She scanned the scenery for ghouls. Not one in sight. She sighed. She felt paranoid but when she stepped out, she wasn't attacked. "Well, I suppose the coast's clear," she said before walking along the river. The sound of the water calmed her, like a soft lullaby.

The sight of her home soon disappeared and Red strayed into unknown territory. The place was littered with birch trees and Red had trouble navigating, climbing up a tree every so often in attempt to check for ghouls. She gulped, noticing the setting sun. She'd need to set up camp before nightfall.

She took several wooden blocks and a torch out of her inventory, quickly placing the blocks around her and Aurora. Soon, a make-shift wooden structure surrounded them and the torch lit the night. Aurora whimpered, begging for something to eat. "Here you go, girl," said Red, tossing a piece of meat to her wolf.

She silently chewed a piece of bread as Aurora enthusiastically gnawed on pork chop. Red soon dozed off, dreams of ghouls and the Nether flooding her mind like lava.

The next day, Red and Aurora continued on, at last reaching the end of the birch wood forest. "Hey look, Aurora! A village," said Red as several villagers ran towards her. "Help us, player! One of our brethren has fallen into the Well of No Return!" one of them yelled.

"Where?" Red asked as the villagers led her to a one block deep well. "Help! Help!" exclaimed a villager inside the well. "Relax. You can jump right out of there," said Red. "I can?" asked the villager before jumping out of the well. "Oh,"

"This knowledge shall be treasured, player," said another one of the villagers. Red sighed. This was the first time she had entered a village and she was already getting sick of it. "Well," she said. "I'm looking for another player. Do you know any?" she asked.

"Hmm….Us farmer villagers don't really keep track, but the librarian villager probably does. He lives over there," said one of the villagers, gesturing towards a small house. "Alright, thanks," said Red before heading towards the door.

She knocked on the door, hearing a "Come in!" from inside. Red opened the wooden door. "Hello, player. What is it that you seek?" said the librarian. "I'm looking for other players. Do you know any?" asked Red.

"Hmm," the librarian seemed deep in thought. "I think that there were a few players that have come here before," he said. "I think one of them lives up in the mountain behind this village," he added. Red thanked him before leaving. "Well, it's getting dark. We'd better find some shelter," said Red to Aurora as they searched for an inn.


	4. Chapter 3: Reagan Ravenfeather

The sun cast a luminous glow upon the land of Minecraft as Red and Aurora headed up a mountain. The mountain was large, and there were creepers lurking around the corners. Red kept her eyes open for green flash or red eyes, glinting in the light.

She was halfway up the mountain and she could see a large brick house at the top. The grass swayed in the breeze as Red and her wolf made their way to the top. "Well, I guess this is it," said Red. Suddenly, a screech pierced her ears.

Red looked around and saw a girl, about her age running from two ghouls. She held an enchanted bow and shot several arrows at the ghouls from it. She donned a mint green dress and dark brown slippers and had light silver hair that complimented her grey eyes. "Run, Nessie, run!" yelled the girl. A small red cat ran from the ghoul, meowing its fear away.

"Come one Aurora!" said Red, running towards the ghoul. She leapt upon it, slashing at its head with her sword. Black fluid spilled over the floor as Aurora pounced upon the other ghoul. Aurora bit its neck hard, letting its body go limp on the floor.

"Thanks for the save," said the girl. "I'm Reagan Ravenfeather, and you are?"

"Red, Red Robinwing," said Red, shaking Reagan's hand.

"These ghouls are coming more and more often. I've seen columns of smoke coming from Nether Portals and obsidian blocks. Weird isn't?" said Reagan. "Those ghouls actually come from the Nether," said Red, remembering the contents of the book. "We should get rid of them then!" said Reagan angrily.

Red was confused at Reagan's anger. "They killed my sister," said Reagan, sorrow in her voice. "It was the first day when they came. They swarmed my house and she-" Reagan held back tears. "She came to help me and died in the process," "I'm so sorry," "It's okay. I know she's somewhere in the Aether now."

"If we want to destroy them, we will need to raise an army," said Red. "We'll need all other players in this world to defeat these Forces of The Nether,"

"Come in, you can spend the night here," said Reagan, inviting Red into her house. "Thanks," said Red as the two headed inside.

The next day, Red helped Reagan on her farm. "So, do you know any other players?" asked Red. "Well, yes. There are a few that live around here," replied Reagan, ploughing some dirt with a hoe. "Can we get them to help us?" "Probably, but I can see a storm coming. We'd better wait until the rain passes before going to find them,"


	5. Chapter 4: Meet the Spider Whisperer

The rain poured down heavily as Aurora engaged Nessie in a game of tug-o'-war. Reagan polished her bow as Red flipped the pages of her book. "Did you ever know your parents, Red?" asked Reagan. "Nope. Never seen them before," replied Red as she scanned through the words that were written upon her book.

"Neither have I," said Reagan as she watched the rain slow to a drizzle. "I think we can look for the other players now," she said again, before strapping her bow to her back. The four headed out as the puddles of rain slowly dried up.

"Come this way," said Reagan as she walked down the other side of the mountain towards a lake. Red followed her as a large wooden house on stilts came into sight. A young boy stood on a wooden platform. He had dark brown eyes, black hair and wore a brown leather tunic, pants and boots. He had a diamond sword strapped to his belt and an iron helmet on his head. Most astonishing was that a fairly large spider as sitting on his head!

"Hey!" yelled Reagan, waving to the boy. "Sup, Reagan!" he replied. "Uh, do you know that you have a spider on your head?" asked Red, feeling awkward. "Oh, you mean Spidarus? He's cool," said the boy as he flicked a switch.

Red heard pistons as a wooden path rose from the lake. She followed Reagan over to the house. "Um, hi," said Red. "Hello to you too," said the boy. "I'm Fly Spiderweb,"

Spidarus let out a chirping noise as Red backed away slightly. "Fly, have you noticed the ghouls lately?" asked Reagan. "Sure did. Good thing they hate water though," replied Fly as he gave Spidarus a pet. "They come from the Nether, and we should destroy them before they get stronger and are able to run free in the Overworld," said Red.

"Well, then I'm on your side. Those ghouls seem to have a taste for spiders," said Fly as Spidarus made a sad noise. "Do you have a plan?" asked Reagan hope in her eyes. "Hmm… If they are afraid of water, we're going to need a way to get a bunch of water into the Nether," said Fly. "After that we can just trap them with water and attack them from there and BOOM! They're dead,"

"Seems like a sound plan to me," said Reagan. "Thing is how are we going to get water into the Nether?"

Spidarus chirped for a while into Fly's ear. A string of spider-speak that only Fly could understand. "That's brilliant, Spidarus!" said Fly after a few moments. "Spidarus says that he knows a potion that makes water so cold that it can withstand even the Nether!" gushed Fly. "However, we will need a few things,"

Red was confused. "Things? Like what?" she asked. Spidarus chirped a little more into Fly's ear. "Sixteen snowballs, The Iceflower and an ice jewel from the Ice Lord," replied Fly, translating Spidarus's spider-speak list.

"Where are we going to get those?" asked Reagan. "We'll have to search snow biomes and taiga biomes for Ice dungeons. Spidarus would know when we're close to one of the items,"

"Alright, if we're going to go dungeon plundering, we're going to need supplies," said Red. "Anyone up for some mining?"


	6. Chapter 5: Mine thy ore &name thy weapon

Red, Reagan and Fly headed down the tunnel, lighting the path with torches as they went. They reached a dead end. "Come on everyone, let's start from here," said Red, starting to mine towards the east. Fly and Reagan went north and west, demolishing the thick walls of stone.

Red mined quickly, glancing back every once in a while to check for ghouls or mobs. She was mining out some iron when suddenly, she heard a sound. It sounded very strange, muffled voices and a bunch of spider-speak. She mined out the blocks in front of her and noticed Reagan, Fly, Nessie and Spidarus in standing together.

"Looks like we cross-mined," giggled Fly as Spidarus seemed to laugh as well. "Let's just go the same way then, we might be able to get more ores," said Red as they continued. A three block wide tunnel soon formed and they found bits of coal, iron and even diamond here and there. They had been mining for a while before Reagan froze.

"Err, guys. Come look at this," said Reagan as she gestured to a strange opening. Peering closer, Red noticed that it led to a skeleton dungeon. "Uh oh," said Fly as he raised his sword, ready to leap at the first skeleton in sight. "Wait, let me see if I can dash over there and destroy the spawner," said Red as she clambered into the dungeon. "Watch out!" yelled Reagan as several arrows whizzed past Red's head.

Red hit the spawner with her pickaxe, the eerie fire from it making her head spin. Several skeletons lunged at her but Fly and Aurora blocked them just in time as Reagan and Nessie took down a few other skeletons. "Taste my Spiderheart!" yelled Fly as he impaled one of the skeletons. She hit it again, this time destroying the spawner. "Phew! Glad that's taken care of," sighed Red as Reagan opened a chest that lay in the dungeon.

"Hey look! There are some pretty decent enchanted books in here," said Reagan as she took several enchantment books from the chest. "Alright everyone, we'd best get going before the ghouls come," said Red, climbing out of the dungeon.

As they neared the exit of the mine, they noticed a crowd of ghouls floating right in front of them. "Shoot!" said Fly in a whispered tone as he crouched behind a few blocks of stone. "Don't worry. I'll distract them," said Reagan as she fired an arrow off in the distance. The ghouls heard the noise and floated towards the arrow.

"Three, two," counted Red softly. "One," They took off at lightning speed, Nessie trying her best not to meow. The ghouls noticed and gave chase. The ghouls let out angry screeches that echoed throughout the area. Reagan's house came into view and they ran faster as the ghouls started firing bolts of flame at them.

"We'll lose them at the river!" yelled Fly as he sprint jumped over the body of water. Red, Reagan and their canine and feline friends soon followed. The ghouls seemed to weaken as they neared the river and they soon turned away.

Red sighed with relief. "That was close," she said. The group entered Reagan's house. The sun set slowly as Red tore the pages from an enchanted book, wrapping them around Reagan's bow. She lit it on fire and the ember slowly burned the paper away, revealing Reagan's bow that now seemed to have a strange glow to it. Several symbols were etched on to it as Red set the bow down. The word "Ocelodonn" were carved into the side of the bow. Red picked up her own sword that had "Wolfstrong" scribbled into its hilt.

She gazed at the night sky. Just in a few days so many things had changed. She had left her home, the only place she knew and loved, and somehow she knew that there was much more to come.


	7. Chapter 6: The Ice Palace

The sun rose once again, scattering pixels of light all over the place. Red stepped out of the house, Aurora following behind her. "Seems like a good day to look for a snow biome," said Red as Reagan, Nessie, Fly and Spidarus came out of the house as well.

"Let's go then!" said Fly as they descended the mountain. The place was for once, clear of ghouls. They dashed through the forest, heading towards the north. Red felt as if there was something following them, but whenever she turned back, there was nothing there.

Fly held a compass, watching as the red needle moved slowly. "Hey, look over there!" exclaimed Reagan suddenly as she noticed an ice castle on a snow biome. "Jackpot!" said Red as they headed towards it. "Maybe there might be another player over there," said Fly as Spidarus nodded his head.

As they neared the castle, several strange villagers came into sight. They were wearing ice-blue robes with hoods that were pulled over their heads. Blue necklaces were hung on their necks. "Welcome, players," one of them said. He had a dark blue spiral on his forehead. "Welcome to our paradise of ice," he said again.

"It is late, you should come in and rest in our sanctuary," said another villager. Their voices echoed, sounding like the voice of just one villager. Reagan and Fly eagerly headed towards the doorway although Red was reluctant. She felt that it was abnormal that villagers would behave like this. They usually did not acknowledge players this way.

Red followed them anyway, not wanting to be left behind. Aurora went with Fly and Reagan as Red trailed them slowly. The ice walls of the palace glistened as they followed a villager into a bright room. Light came in from one of the windows as Fly and Reagan settled down.

Red was still uneasy. "Go ahead. You may explore as much of the castle as you wish," the villager said to Red as she nodded. Aurora had fallen asleep on the floor as Reagan and Fly sat down on the bed. Red pushed the door open, heading outside to the icy hallway.

She walked up a set of stairs, noticing a small wolf in the corner. It didn't look like a regular wolf. It was stunning white with a cyan spiral on its head. It blinked its silver eyes at Red. She couldn't help herself but to go towards the wolf.

Aurora perked her ears as she arose to see what had become of her owner. Red felt dizzy, as if something had knocked her head. She shut her eyes tightly, hoping that doing so would clear her head but when she opened them again, the enchanting wolf had disappeared, in its place a translucent wolf with the red eyes of a ghoul. Red felt herself fade away into nothingness. The last thing she saw were Aurora's eyes, staring in horror.

Aurora dashed back to the room, barking. Fly and Reagan were drinking a blue liquid that the villagers had given them. Aurora barked some more, alarmed. She noticed Nessie and Spidarus in the corner, seeming as worried as she was. She ran towards them, barking some more, hoping that they would understand.

Spidarus and Nessie still stared blankly at Aurora. She howled in frustration before using her claw to scratch out "THE PLAYERS ARE IN DANGER". Spidarus noticed Fly and Reagan who flopped on the bed, falling asleep as the villager gazed at the three animals hungrily.

Spidarus leapt for the villager's neck, bringing him down. He chirped for the two to follow him as he sneaked along the hallway. Aurora looked at where the wolf had been. It was still there. Staring at her with red eyes.


	8. Chapter 7: Escape

AN: Whoops...I forgot to write earlier that Saphira and her pets are Fireleaf the medicine cat's characters. Sorry about that!

* * *

Aurora wanted to kill the wolf, but it disappeared before she could. She growled softly as she followed Spidarus. The spider scanned the area, his red eyes glowing. He noticed a dark room at the end of the hallway, heading towards it.

Almost all the villagers seemed to be standing around something in that room, mumbling strange phrases. "What are we going to do? The wolfs up to something," said one of them. As Aurora neared them, she noticed that they all had glowing red eyes and pale white skin. Ghouls.

Spidarus climbed up the wall, quiet as he could as Nessie and Aurora sneaked into the shadows. A girl was lying on the floor in the middle of the crowd. Her arms were bound by ropes and her sword placed in the distant corner of the room. It was Red.

The three sneaked their way into a small room. It was even darker and several iron bars were in front of them. "Psst!" a voice came from behind the iron bars. A young girl, younger than Red stood in the prison. She had shoulder length black hair and dark blue eyes. She wore a silver gown that went down to her ankles and had a blue scarf wrapped around her neck. A glowing bow and a small knife, a sharpened piece of flint on a thick stick were strapped to her back and waist.

"Can you get me out of here?" she whispered to the three. Spidarus nodded as he tried to break the lock open with his teeth. After several attempts, he gave up as Nessie stepped forward. The cat slid out a claw, picking the lock until it fell off with a loud clang. "What was that?" said one of the ghouls. Aurora turned back to the girl with a questioning look. "You go ahead. I can take care of myself," she said, before fading away suddenly.

Spidarus let out a small chirp of spider-speak, signalling for the rest of the group to follow him. The ghouls flooded into the room, as Spidarus, high above them, carried Aurora and Nessie outside. Aurora bounded towards Red, chewing the ropes that bound her. "Good girl!" said Red as she quickly grabbed her sword.

The ghouls had noticed them and rushed forward, firing balls of burning flame. Red grabbed Aurora's collar, dodging the embers. Spidarus leapt upon one of the ghoul's face, biting it hard. Nessie weaved between the feet of two ghouls, causing them to trip and fall. Red swung her sword at another ghoul, impaling it and flinging it at the other ghouls. Aurora pounced on a ghoul-wolf, biting its neck.

Suddenly, several arrows seemed to fly out of nowhere as a dark blue horse knocked open a hole in the wall. The horse had a silver star on its head and had dark purple eyes. It neighed loudly as a wolf and a cat trailed behind it. The wolf was wearing a black collar and the cat had white fur with dark green eyes.

The horse knocked a ghoul into the wall with its head as the wolf and the cat pushed several ghouls down. More arrows flew as the girl from before appeared again, grabbing her knife and stabbing one of the ghouls. Red sliced through two ghouls as black blood spilled on the floor. Reagan and Fly came rushing in suddenly, grabbing their weapons. Reagan shot several flying ghouls out of the sky as Fly knocked a ghoul on the head with his sword.

"This way!" said the girl, ghouls surrounding them. Red, Reagan and Fly followed her. A large light blue dragon waited outside as the ghouls backed away. "Come on!" she said again as she climbed on top the dragon. The dragon sent a breath of blue fire at the ghouls before taking off. Red clung on tight, the breeze beating in her face. "What's your name?" she asked the girl.

"Saphira Zen."


	9. Chapter 8: Guardian of The Ice Flower

"So where do you live, Saphira?" asked Reagan as Nessie made herself comfortable in the archer's lap. Saphira gestured towards a small cottage that was at the foot of an icy mountain. The dragon swooped down towards the house.

Saphira jumped off it, petting it on the head. "Thanks, Evenstar," she said before beckoning for the rest to follow her in. The horse lay down on the snow as the wolf and the cat headed inside. The house had several chests and furnaces including a small cactus incinerator.

"Do you have any family?" asked Red as Saphira shook her head. "Evenstar is the one who raised me. She and Arya," Saphira said, gesturing to her horse. "Are mod-walkers from Moddean," she said again. "Have ghouls been coming here?" asked Fly. "You mean the ghost demons? Yes, they have," replied Saphira. "According to Evenstar, they come from the Lava Lands,"

"The Nether?"

"If that's what you call it,"

"Well, Spidarus over here knows away to stop them," said Fly. "How?" "16 snowballs, the Ice Flower and an ice jewel," he said again as Spidarus nodded his head. "Hmm… Well you could get snowballs everywhere here but the last two are only found in dungeons," "I suppose we'd better start looking," said Red, scratching Aurora's head. "Can I come with you?" asked Saphira. "I'm tired of getting kidnapped by ghouls too!" she laughed.

The moon rose slightly as Red watched Aurora dream, probably of hunting pigs. She smiled slightly. The rest of the group had fallen asleep, with the exception of her and Saphira who had gone to the "Lights of Mojang" to pray. The night air was crisp and the snow fell softly. Suddenly, the sight of an Enderman came into view. The Enderman had a dark green spiral that resembled the markings on Red's sword on its chest and had green eyes instead of purple ones.

The Enderman came nearer, chattering away in Ender-speak. Suddenly, it seemed to say something in English. "Zaira….Zaira…..Come to us…" It disappeared in a flash before Red could do anything. "Huh? That was weird," she whispered as she settled down to sleep.

The next day, Fly and Spidarus were collecting snowballs while Red, Reagan and Saphira explored a cave. "Most ice dungeons are found in caves," said Saphira as she used her hand to clean the dust off a strange door. "Here's one," she said, gesturing towards the intricate design on the door.

Saphira pushed the door open, dodging several arrows that flew out of it. "Skeleton dungeon," she said as she jumped inside. Red and Reagan followed her as arrows whizzed past them. Saphira latched herself on the icy wall and faded away when she caught several skeletons aiming at her. She reached for her own bow, letting loose several arrows.

A drop of sweat trickled down Red's face as she sliced through the skeletons with her sword, the spawner was close, but not close enough for her to reach. Reagan stood at the entrance, arrows flying from her bow, trying to shoot down as many skeletons as possible.

Red moved a little bit closer towards the spawner. She heard Aurora barking furiously, ripping through the skeletons. Red squinted her eyes, moving even closer. _Finally!_ She thought as she grabbed her pickaxe and swung it at the spawner. It crumbled as the skeletons soon fell to either the arrow of an archer, the deadly bite of an enraged wolf or the sharp claw of a cat.

Saphira leaped down from the ceiling, reappearing. "How do you do that?" asked Reagan as she brushed the chips of ice off from her dress. "I learned when I was young" said Saphira. Suddenly, a giant creature emerged from the floor. It stood tall on two legs that had sharp claws on each leg. It's hands held a large bow, with giant arrows in the quiver on its back. "What in Minecraftia is that?" exclaimed Reagan. "I am the guardian of the Ice Flower, pathetic human. You shall die under my grasp!"


	10. Chapter 9: Duel

Red raised her sword, knowing what would come next. "Give us the Ice Flower!" Reagan challenged. "Hush!" Saphira said suddenly, scaring Red. "Who's side are you on?" asked Reagan angrily. "All dungeon masters must be treated with respect," said Saphira as she knelt in front of the guardian. Red followed suit, kneeling on the icy ground. Her green eyes gazed at the guardian in awe, unblinking.

Reagan scowled, kneeling down herself as Aurora and Nessie lowered their bodies to the floor. "O' mighty guardian, I humbly request for the Ice Flower," asked Saphira, head bowed. The silence pierced the air, broken only by the sound of the guardian. "Tell me why you desire the Ice Flower?" the guardian rumbled, lowering his bow.

"We need it for a potion,"

"A potion? For what purpose?"

"T-To bring water into the Nether and destroy the ghouls,"

"Why would you need to destroy such amusing creatures?"

"Amusing?!" Reagan growled. "They killed my sister! How does that count as amusing?" she said, her eyes burning like fire.

"Perhaps only to you it is a menace, but the balance of Minecraftia is perfectly fine. Give and take. The players take the richness of the land, the ghouls take the lives of the players. Fair enough to me," the guardian replied calmly, eyes glowing blue.

Regan prepared to launch herself at the guardian, but Red's hand stopped her. The guardian eyed Red's sword. "Ah, a Runic Warrior eh?" said the guardian. "As far as I know, the only remains of the Runic Tribe are their Enderman allies. I suppose it would be fun to duel with one,"

Red was confused. She wondered what was going on. Sure, she was a Runic Warrior but she didn't know about Enderman allies. She remembered the Enderman from the night before. She gulped, nervous. She had to do it. It was her only chance.

"Well, then I challenge you to duel!" she said, her voice echoing throughout the cave. "If I win, you shall give us the Ice Flower. If I lose, you can take my life," she said again, wildfire in her eyes.

"Very well. Let us start,"

* * *

"What are you thinking?!" yelled Saphira. "No one can defeat a guardian! Are you crazy?"

Red sighed. "Yes, yes I am crazy," she launched in to the air, stabbing the guardian's leg with her sword. The ice he was made of cracked slightly, allowing Red to have a firm footing. The guardian grasped a knife that lay at his waist, thrusting it at Red. Gasping, she blocked the knife with her sword. She pushed harder, the knife barely budging away from her.

"Red, get down from there! Stop the fight!" Reagan yelled but it fell on Red's deaf ears. A sudden feeling of pure anger overwhelmed Red as a vision came across her gaze.

_A young girl that looked a lot like Red came into her blurred vision. The girl held Red's sword as she ran from two large ghouls. Blood splattered the girl's clothing as she dashed through the forest. Her parents were gone. Long gone. Ghouls had taken everyone that bore the green symbol on their sword. Everyone._

Red snapped out of her vision, rage taking over. She pushed even harder, the knife falling out of the guardian's hands. "Now tell me again! Why do you seek the Ice Flower!?" the guardian yelled. Red was in a trance, her eyes clouded.

"To seek vengeance. To protect the home. Minecraftia!"


	11. Chapter 10: Ice Flower Obtained!

The guardian chuckled. "Well then let's see if you got what it takes to do that!" The guardian pinned Red down with his foot, an arrow pointing to her head.

Reagan raised her own bow, but a tug on her shoulder pulled her back. "You are not allowed to interfere in a duel between a guardian and a challenger," said Saphira firmly.

Reagan sighed in frustration. All these rules were getting up her nerves. The "Don't dig straight down" one from Fly was bad enough. Red used her sword to push against the heavy foot of the guardian. She shut her eyes tight, hoping that doing so would block the chips of ice from going in. She pushed even harder, her rage burning like a steady flame. The guardian pushed harder as Red gasped for breath.

* * *

A fire burned madly in the Nether, as the shadow of a pale faced man glittered in a Nether Fortress. He wore a red and yellow robe that seemed to blaze like fire. He blinked his red eyes at a small translucent pool of burning hot liquid in front of him. The image of a girl under the foot of a giant ice creature formed in the pool.

The man raised his eyebrow, looking up to a young girl. She had the same pale almost white skin, red eyes and was wearing a black dress with a slight tint of blood red. She smiled a poisonous smile.

"Yes, my lord. She will be dead,"

* * *

Red felt the strength ebbing away from her with every second. She pushed at the hunk of ice even more, the runes on her sword glowing brightly.

_I can't!_

Reagan gritted her teeth. _Come on, Red…._

Saphira stood there, her shoulders tense. She stared at the guardian, unsure of what to do.

"Red! Fight harder! You know you can!" yelled Reagan, her fists clenched. "Alright that's it!" she said suddenly, preparing to fire an arrow. An icy grip prevented her from moving. "I told you it wasn't allowed!" wailed Saphira as vines of ice swirled around Reagan, preventing all movement.

"Red!" yelled Reagan, the vines almost covering her mouth.

_Red….Red…._

_I can't do it…._

_Yes you can! You're our only hope…. Come on….._

Red opened her eyes, kicking the guardian's foot. She kicked again, feeling it release its grip on her slightly. A loud crack resounded in the cave as Red kicked the guardian's foot right off her. She leaped up, the runes on her sword glowing brightly.

She gritted her teeth, leaping up upon the guardian again. She clambered up, making her way to the guardian's neck. Reagan's eyes brightened as Red pushed her sword into the guardian's throat.

A bright light glowed as the guardian seemed to disappear into the walls of the cave. A glistening flower floated out from where the guardian had vanished as the ice vines that bound Reagan released her. "You did it!" she yelled, rushing over to Red. "Look at this thing," said Red as she held the Ice Flower in her hands.

"What's going on?!" Fly's voice rang in the cave. "I heard something. Is everything alright?"

"Sure, just great, Fly. Just great,"

* * *

"Well, lights out I guess," said Reagan as she settled down to sleep. She smiled, content. At last, there was a way for her to avenge her sister.

She noticed Red staring out the window. "What are ya' looking at, Red?" she asked, watching the girl gaze out, as if she was hypnotized.

"Have you ever seen Endermen before?"

'Of course. Who hasn't?"

"Endermen with green eyes and spiral symbols on them?"

"Well, not really. Have you?"

Red nodded.

Suddenly, a word of Ender-speak pierced the night. An Enderman came to the window, right in front of Red. The Enderman was the same one she had met a few nights ago. It said something in Ender-speak, seeming alarmed.

"Wha-"

"Red? What's that Enderman doing?"

The Enderman used a hand to write "RUN" on the window.

"Run?"

The black creature nodded its head, teleporting away. The lights started to flicker on and off, alerting the rest of the house.

"Someone's here,"


	12. Chapter 11: Something from the LavaLands

Red raised her sword instinctively, looking around. "Wha-what's going on?" asked Reagan, panicking. She reached for her bow, watching fearfully as Saphira, Fly, Spidarus, Aurora and Nessie came running in. "Look," said Saphira, the Ice Flower in her hands. It glowed red, like the eyes of ghasts.

"Something from the Lava Lands is here,"

Red squinted, watching the snow slowly turn to ash outside the window. An earsplitting bang resounded throughout the room as a girl came out of the shadows. She had long black hair that waved wildly. Her red eyes glinted as her black and red dress swished around her.

"Ready to die?"

* * *

"What do you want?!" said Reagan, aiming an arrow at her. Aurora growled, moving next to Red as she raised her sword higher. "Now then, why should I tell you, pathetic Overworldling," said the girl, raising a hand. She clenched her fist, making a bunch of flaming embers swirl around Red, trapping her. "For Notch's sake! Why must everything aim at me first? Go kick Fly's butt for a change,"

"Hey!"

"What is a Notch?"

the girl asked. "You don't know who Notch is?" said Reagan.

"Nope. Unless you are talking about the Nether-shaper..."

"Nether-shaper, Notch whatever! Same guy!"

"Oh shut your trap!"

the girl yelled. She pulled a flaming sword from her inventory, kicking Reagan to the ground. She pointed the sword at her neck.

"You won't be talking much after I'm done with you,"

"Oh yeah she will!"

Fly grabbed his sword, stabbing the girl's back. The sword simply pierced her skin slightly, barely doing any damage. She turned around kicking Fly away. Red used a block of cobblestone to stub out the fire, leaping towards the girl. She slashed her sword, hearing the clang as it met with the girl's own sword. She deflected the flaming iron away, balancing herself as she slid away slightly. The girl smiled, her eyes burning. She lunged at Red, the two exchanging sword slashes, the girl slowly pushing Red towards the wall.

Saphira grabbed her bow, firing an arrow at the girl. The arrow bounced off as the girl turned towards Saphira. Saphira fired several more arrows, only one managing to pierce her body. The girl snapped it off easily.

"You come back here!"

yelled Reagan, firing a few arrows at the girl. The girl blinked, using her sword to deflect the arrows towards Red. "Ow!Reagan!" yelled Red, falling to the ground.

"Oops..."

* * *

Red pulled herself up, taking the arrows out of her body. Noticing that the girl was not looking, she stabbed the girl's neck, pushing her blade deep into her neck. She could hear the girl gasp slightly, before kicking her away.

The girl clutched her wound, panting hard. "This isn't over,"

She teleported away, the only remains being a few puffs of smoke.

"You okay, Red?"

"Yep, sure,"

The sound of Ender-speak went around the room as the Enderman from before appeared in front of them. It bent down, Saphira's ceiling being quite low. "What is it, Enderman?" asked Red as the Enderman turned its head to her. It held a book and quill, writing something inside it. It held the book out to Red.

_I am an Enderman of the Runic Warriors. You can call me Enderdane. The Netherling from earlier, Ignition is one of the ghouls. She was sent here to destroy you under the command of Ghastron, Lord of the Ghasts and the Ghouls. Please excuse my lack of speech. I have not yet learned how to speak in English.  
_

"Wait, what? An Enderman of the Runic Warriors?"


	13. Chapter 12: Follow the Enderman

Enderdane took the book again, writing something.

_Yes. You must come with me. Enderherd would like to see you. Don't worry, our stronghold isn't too far from here.  
_

"O-Okay," said Red as Saphira came closer.

"Are we just going to follow an Enderman around?"

"I suppose that is our best lead,"

"Sounds like fun..."

* * *

_Come to me._

Red signaled for the group to gather around the Enderman as green particles surrounded it. A circle formed around them as Enderdane teleported them to a taiga biome. Red felt strange, as if her body had just been stretched around the world. She opened her eyes, noticing a structure of chiseled stone bricks, several more green and black Endermen wandering around.

Enderdane looked around as a few other Endermen gathered around them. "Greetings, Enderdane and players," said a few of them, their voices slightly unclear. Suddenly, another Enderman jumped onto Enderdane, yelling. "Enderdane! You're back!" it yelled with the same slight blurriness. Enderdane said something to it in Ender-speak, pushing it off from his back. Another Enderman, with more spiral patterns came along, green eyes blinking. "Greetings, players. I am Enderherd and I apologize for interrupting your search but this is urgent," he said, voice less blur compared to that of the other Endermen.

"Ignition has covered all exits of this snow biome. As you probably know from earlier, she is a formidable foe and gets stronger with every battle. There is a myth that she lights her body on fire to give herself strength. We will need to train you, players to combat her,"

"Lights her body on fire? What kind of madwoman would do such a thing,"

"It's a myth, dummy!"

"Oh shut up, Reagan!"

"No you shut up!"

"Both of you just shut it already for Notch's sake."

* * *

Ignition blinked, as she sat in front of a fire, burning on a piece of netherrack. For the hatred of water, why couldn't those pesky players just stop resisting! She sighed. It was hard being on the side of the ghouls. However, what else could a Nether-spawned player do?

She looked up, admiring the glowstone that lit the sky. "I think we need to learn from glowstone," she said to herself. "Just sitting there, lighting up the Nether. We could melt all the ice just by going near it," She closed her eyes, imagining that scenario.

"Ah, not gonna happen. No one would be able to move anyway. Since we're blocks,"

* * *

Red walked with Enderdane. He had written on the book that she would need to follow him to prepare for battle. He led her through a dark path, not even a single torch was present to light the continuous stream of darkness. Red blinked, her eyes not used to such a dark place.

"If you can't really speak English, how could you talk to me that night?"

The Enderman seemed to struggle to pronounce something. It came out as a voice that was almost incomprehensible.

"Ay-Aye cann but I can't do eet very weel. Aye used a translay-tor that neight,"

"Oh, okay, but why did you call me Zaira?"

Enderdane let out an Enderman-like laugh.

"Aye muss have ayeten too man-eye leeves," he said. "-but someteyemes things Endermen saye wheyn _arrrrrrrrr_ are they trooth. Maibe you nayme is Zaira,"

"Huh. Maybe,"

The tunnel came to an end as the two reached a swirling green portal. Enderdane gestured for Red to follow as the two headed in.


	14. Chapter 13: What is that?

AN: Sorry for the really long wait! Just had a case of writer's block. :(

* * *

Red opened her eyes to a pitch black sky. She looked around, confused and slightly afraid. The darkness swallowed up her vision. She tried to speak but when she said something, she couldn't hear it. She couldn't hear anything._ S_he walked in the dark abyss, contemplating her surroundings.

She blinked, thinking. Was it the right choice to follow an Enderman that she had only known for around a day? Was it even the right choice to try defeating those ghouls anyway? Was this all just a trap?

Suddenly, her ears picked up a soft cackle. Relieved, Red dashed towards the sound. When she finally arrived at the source of the sound, she noticed that a faint orange glow lit up a small spot. A pool of lava lay in front of her.

"Not to worry my lord, I shall burn the entire snow biome to a crisp. The redstone bomb is ready," An image of Ignition in the pool of lava spoke.

Red let out a gasp as the world swirled into a replica of The End. "Wher warr yoo, Red?" Enderdane's voice brought some comfort to her.

"I don't know," she said, glad that she could hear her own voice once again." I had a vision. Ignition said that she was going to burn the snow biome using a sort of redstone thing,"

"Theet zouns bad..."

"Anyway, why are we here again?"

"Rye need to shhowww yooo som thing,"

"Oh. Okay,"

Enderdane signaled to Red. He opened a small green chest and pulled out a blade that looked very similar to Red's own. It was iron, but with green and black markings instead of just green. "What is that?" asked Red, curious.

* * *

Cliffhanger! Sorry about the really short chapter. I'll try to post longer ones soon.


	15. Chapter 14: Glowstone Wires?

Enderdane was quiet for a while as he recalled the name of the object. "Rye tink iiiiit wos called . . ." static seemed to fill his voice. Red managed to make out a phrase from the noise. 'SWORD OF THE LEADER' _The leader of the Runic Warriors. _Red assumed. The green patterns on the sword glowed faintly. She blinked, turning to Enderdane.

"Okay so what do you want to do with it?" asked Red. Enderdane shrugged. "Shouldn't you know what to do with it?" said Red. "Rye don't know. Enderheerd told me to waaet foo heem," said Enderdane, looking around. A small green burst of sparks exploded on top of an obsidian pillar. Enderherd had arrived. "Just on time, eh?" said Red in a humorous tone.

Enderherd's lips curved into an Enderman smile of sorts. "Just in time indeed," he said, as he teleported himself to the ground. "About the sword. . ."

* * *

Sparks flew from the bubbling lava surrounding Ignition. She sat in the hollowed out mountain, a small redstone contraption sitting in the corner. The redstone was dull, as it was not charged. The hiss of a creeper echoed around the room. The green creature charged in, eyes blazing. "You can't do this, filthy LavaLander!" he said, voice blurred with hissing.

Ignition glanced over to the creeper, her eyes glowing with a sort of darkness. She raised her hand, a stream of lava heading towards the creeper. Its eyes widened as the lava completely dissolved it. The cruel player sighed, turning back to the redstone, a bomb. It was an intriguing thing, with all the strange blocks and wires.

Something else accompanied the redstone, a thick yellow wire. Glowstone wires, the ghouls's latest invention. _Much easier to obtain compared to redstone._thought Ignition as the glowstone's dim light illuminated the room along with the lava.

All the snow would be gone. Soon.


	16. Chapter 15: Something Important

_A mysterious weapon that belonged to the fiercest Runic warrior ever known. _

_If used correctly, it can bring victory._

Enderherd's words still rang in Red's ears that night as she trudged through the snow. The two Endermen had taught her how to use the sword. _Stab instead of slash._ They had told her. Red blinked, the cold wind chilling her to the bone. She was going to have plenty of fun stabbing ghouls with that huge thing. Suddenly, she heard a small voice. "Hey Red!" It was Reagan. Red turned around, seeing her friend run towards her. "So glad to see you!" Reagan exclaimed. "Glad to see you too," replied Red happily.

"Where have you been?" asked Reagan, curiosity lighting up her eyes. Red thought for a moment. She actually had no idea where the Enderman had taken her earlier. "Some form of alternate dimension," said Red, shrugging. "Well, I was dragged to some form of crazy Enderman's fort. He was trying to make me 'Get in touch with my soul'" said Reagan as she rolled her eyes. "Whatever that means," she said again.

Red could see the moon slowly going down. "It's almost daytime. You should get some sleep," she said to Reagan. "I think I already had enough of that while 'meditating'" laughed Reagan, wrapping her block arm around Red. "Let's get back to Enderman Haven, shall we?" she said with a glint in her eye.

* * *

The sun came quicker than usual today. _Ignition's presence._ Red thought. She rose from a bed she had placed down in a makeshift wooden hut. Red gazed outside. Voices were yelling outside.

"Wheet's going on?"

"How coold thees happen?"

Red quickly ran outside. Fly and Spidarus were already there. Aurora tailed Red, panting. Red could see a large crowd gathered around an ice structure. A melted ice statue.

"Ignition's antics have destroyed the Cold Pillar!"

Enderherd's voice was clear and loud. This was something important. Very important.

* * *

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed that chapter! I apologize for the lack of posting. I have been very busy lately. Just to let you know, I might be re-writing a few of the previous chapters to improve them when I have the time. Thanks for reading! :D


	17. Chapter 16: Get in touch with your soul!

"What is the Cold Pillar?" Red asked Enderdane. The Enderman shrugged. "Oonlee thee olldeer Endermen knoo what zit doess," he said. Red gazed at the melting ice structure, watching as Enderherd and two other Endermen stood around it in a quiet conversation.

"What's going to protect the fort now? The ghouls could attack at any second!" said one of the Endermen.

Enderherd seemed to be deep in thought.

"We have to be prepared for war," he said grimly.

"War? But the other Endermen and women are not prepared for much fighting! There has been peace in the fort for centuries," said the second Enderman.

_The pillar protects the fort, apparently._ Red thought. She turned and walked away, hoping that the Endermen had not noticed her eavesdropping. She saw Enderdane teleport himself away.

"So, we have come to a decision?"

That was the last line she heard.

* * *

"Attention!" Enderherd's voice rang loud and clear.

"Ghouls have been sighted near the cliff close to our fort. We must be prepared for an attack."

Alarmed murmurs flooded Red's ears, mostly in Ender-speak. She could hear Aurora making a soft whining sound. Her pet could tell that something was wrong. "What are we going to do?" she heard Fly's voice followed, as always, by a little chirp of spider-speak.

"We stand here and fight," said Reagan, gripping her bow tightly.

"That decision is for Enderherd to make," Red interrupted them. "The Ender-people haven't fought in a long while. Preparation would most likely mean hiding."

"Hiding?" Reagan scoffed. Red heard a the soft thudding sound of footsteps. Turning around, she saw Saphira making her way through the crowd. "You look like you've been in a hurry," remarked Fly. "What's the matter, Saphira?" asked Red, concerned.

Saphira took a deep breath before speaking. "I've consulted the Lights of Mojang," she said. "Wait, those things can actually tal-"

"Hold it, Reagan. This could be something important."

"Fine," said Reagan, heaving an irritated sigh.

"They told me that I need to return to the temple,"

"The what?"

"The temple," said Saphira.

"I am an Ice Guardian. I had served that temple for most of my life- at least before I was captured by the ghouls," she said again.

Before Red could reply, Enderherd spoke. "Everyone must go to the fort that Endersa has built by sunset. It is only there that we can all be safe. Go there and await my further instructions,"

Saphira turned to Red again. "I've already gotten permission from Enderherd. I will leave before sunset," she said. "Are you sure you can go there on your own?" asked Fly. "The ghouls are everywhere now, you know. I saw a few at the frozen river,"

"Not to worry," said Saphira. "I'll be gone and back before you know it!" she added as she walked towards the gate of the fort.

"Endersa? Oh for the love of diamonds!" Reagan said as softly as she could. "She's the nutcase that I was sent to yesterday," she said again.

"I feel for you," Red said with a humorous tone, putting a hand on Reagan shoulder.

"Oh, Rae-Rae! Come, we must find the essence of youth in your heart!" the voice of an Enderwoman rang in the area.

"Notch help me. . . "


	18. Chapter 18 : Final chapter

AN: Hello everyone. I just wanted to say that I don't think I can continue this series anymore. Re-reading it, I find that I have not written this story to the best of my capabilities and I have also lost the initial drive I had to finish it. In the future, I might re-write this thing, but for now, have the unfinished chapter I was working on. I'm really sorry. D: I will work on other projects though, once I come up with an idea or two._

The afternoon sun blazed in the sky. Saphira could already see snow slowly melting away, revealing the dirt beneath. The wind blew, causing the leaves of a tree to rustle softly. Saphira pulled out a small whistle from her inventory. The whistle made a high-pitched squeak as she blew into it. A shadow darkened the ground.

Evenstar, Saphira's dragon soon came into sight. The dragon swooped down, landing just in front of her. "Hello, there Evenstar," she said affectionately as she stroked the dragon's head. "Could you take me to the temple?" she asked as she climbed up onto Evenstar. The dragon nodded her head, mighty wings causing a strong wind. She took off, leaving a trail of pixelated dust behind.

Saphira's gaze fell upon a melting mountain of ice. She sighed. "Look at this horrible mess," she muttered as Evenstar swooped past the giant pool of water. Saphira could feel the air getting progressively warmer with each tick. Melting ice was a common sight now. After quite a long while riding on the dragon, Saphira could see the temple on a mountain. It was a modest structure; four pillars, a roof and an ice sculpture. The cave behind it was darker than what she remembered. Three other players were standing there, backs turned to Saphira. They whispered urgently to each other, in a tone of mixed panic, fear and anger.

"Land right there," said Saphira, pointing to a stack of ice blocks that was flat at the top. Evenstar landed carefully, exhaling wearily as she did.

The end. For now.


End file.
